Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Chapter 1 : ANALOG MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

Objectives
• To understand a permanent magnet moving coil (PMMC) instrument and its operation.
• To understand how a single instrument may be used for multi-range ammeters and voltmeters.
• To understand the basic construction of Moving-iron Instrument and its principle operation.
• To study about Electrodynamics/Dynamometer type of instruments.
• To study about Electrostatic voltmeters.
• To learn about potentiometers operations and applications.
• To learn about Wheatstone bridge and the applications in electrical & electronic circuits.

Introduction

Electric measuring instruments and meters are used to indicate directly the value of current, voltage,
power or energy.

Analog Multi-tester Speedometer kWh Meter

In this lesson, we will consider an electromechanical meter (input is as an electrical signal results
mechanical force or torque as an output) that can be connected with additional suitable components
in order to act as an ammeters and a voltmeter.

Absolute and Secondary Instruments

Absolute instruments are:

1. Those which gives the value of the quantity to be measured in terms of the constant of the
instruments and their deflection only.
2. No calibration or comparison required.

Example
Tangent Galvanometer (gives the value of the current as the tangent of the deflection)

Secondary Instruments are:

1. Those which the value of electrical quantity to be measured can be determined by deflection
only.
2. Pre-calibrated with an absolute instrument.

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Electrical Principle of Operation

All measuring instruments depend on one of many physical effects of electrical current or potential such
as:

1. Magnetic Effect
2. Electrodynamic Effect
3. Electromagnetic Effect
4. Thermal Effect
5. Chemical Effect
6. Electrostatic Effect

Classification Of Instruments

Instruments are classified as:

1. Indicating instruments
 Indicates instantaneous value of electrical quantity being measured at the time being
measured.

2. Recording instruments
 Indicates reading at the same time gives a continuous record of the variation of such
quantity over a selected period of time.

ECG recorder

3. Integrating instruments
 Measures the total quantity or the total amount of electrical energy supplied to a circuit in
a given time. (e.g kWh)

Various forces/torques required in measuring instruments

1. Deflecting torque (Td):

 The deflection torque is produced by one of the effects mentioned above.

 The value of deflecting torque must depend on the electrical signal to be measured.
 This torque/force causes the instrument movement to rotate from its zero position.

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

2. Controlling torque (TC):

 This torque must act in the opposite sense to the deflecting torque.
 The movement will take up an equilibrium or definite position when the deflecting and
controlling torque are equal in magnitude.
 Spiral springs or gravity usually provides the controlling torque.

3. Damping torque:

 A damping force is required to act in a direction opposite to the moving system.

 This brings the moving system to rest at the deflected position reasonably quickly without
any oscillation or very small oscillation.

 Damping force increases with the angular velocity of the moving system, so that its effect is
greatest when the rotation is rapid and zero when the system rotation is zero.
 This is provided by :
i) air friction ii) fluid friction iii) eddy current.

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Moving Iron Instruments

In moving –iron instruments the movable system consists of one or more pieces of specially-shaped
soft iron, which are so pivoted as to be acted upon by the magnetic field produced by the current in
coil.

There are two general types of moving-iron instruments namely:

(i) Repulsion type (ii) Attraction type.

Construction of Moving-iron Instruments

The deflecting torque in any moving-iron instrument is due to forces on a small piece of magnetically
‘soft’ iron that is magnetized by a coil carrying the operating current.

(i) Repulsion Type

In repulsion type moving–iron instrument

consists of two cylindrical soft iron vanes
mounted within a fixed current-carrying coil.

One iron vane is held fixed to the coil frame

and other is free to rotate, carrying with it the
pointer shaft.

Two irons lie in the magnetic field produced

by the coil that consists of only few turns if
the instrument is an ammeter or of many turns
if the instrument is a voltmeter.
Repulsion Type
Current in the coil induces both vanes to
become magnetized and repulsion between the
similarly magnetized vanes produces a
proportional rotation.

The deflecting torque is proportional to the

square of the current in the coil, making the
instrument reading.

Only the fixed coil carries load current, and it

is constructed so as to withstand high transient
current.

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

(ii) Attraction Type

This instrument consists of a few soft iron discs (B) that are fixed to the spindle (D), pivoted in
jeweled bearings.

The spindle (D) also carries a pointer (P), a balance weight (W 1), a controlling weight (W2) and a
damping piston(E), which moves in a curved fixed cylinder (F).

The special shape of the moving-iron discs is for obtaining a scale of suitable form.

Attraction Type

The brief description of different components of a moving-iron instrument is given below.

• Moving element : a small piece of soft iron in the form of a vane or rod
• Coil : produce the magnetic field and also to magnetize the iron pieces.
• Fixed vane or rod : used to magnetize with the opposite polarity.
• Control torque : is provided by spring or weight (gravity)
• Damping torque : provided by an air chamber.
• Deflecting torque : produces a movement on an aluminum pointer over a graduated scale.

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Torque Expressions

And than

So that

Ranges of Ammeters and Voltmeters

For a given moving-iron instrument the ampere-turns necessary to produce full-scale deflection are
constant. One can alter the range of ammeters by providing a shunt coil with the moving coil.

Shunts and Multipliers for MI instruments

For moving-iron ammeters: For the circuit shown, let Rmm and L are respectively the resistance and
inductance of the coil and Rsh and Lsh are in parallel the corresponding values for shunt.

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

The ratio of currents in two parallel branches is

For moving-iron voltmeters:

Voltmeter range may be altered connecting a resistance in series with the coil. Hence the same coil
winding specification may be employed for a number of ranges. Let us consider a high resistance Rse
is connected in series with the moving coil and it is shown below.

V R
v ( )
= 1+
r

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Advantages:
• The instruments are suitable for use in a.c and d.c circuits.
• The instruments are robust, owing to the simple construction of the moving parts.
• The stationary parts of the instruments are also simple.
• Instrument is low cost compared to moving coil instrument.
• Torque/weight ratio is high, thus less frictional error.

Errors:
i. Errors due to temperature variation.
ii. Errors due to friction is quite small as torque-weight ratio is high in moving-iron instruments.
iii. Stray fields cause relatively low values of magnetizing force produced by the coil. Efficient
magnetic screening is essential to reduce this effect.
iv. Error due to variation of frequency causes change of reactance of the coil and also changes the
eddy currents induced in neighboring metal.
v. Deflecting torque is not exactly proportional to the square of the current due to non-linear
characteristics of iron material.

Example

A Moving-iron instrument require 400 ampere-turns to give full scale deflection. Calculate

(a) The number of turns required if the instrument is to be an instrument reading up to 50

ampere.
(b) The number of turns and the total resistance if the instrument is to be used to measure voltage
reading up to 30 V with current 20 mA.

Solution
Full scale deflection (f.s.d) = 400 = I f.s.d × Number of turns

(a) 50 × N = 400 so N = 400/50 = 8

(b) Total resistance R = V/I

= 30/20×10-3
= 1500 Ω

So that N × 20×10-3 = 400

N = 20,000

Example

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

The coil of a 250 V moving iron voltmeter has a resistance of 5000 Ω and an inductance of 1
Henry. The current taken by the instrument when placed on 250 V dc supply is 0.05 A.
Determine the percentage error when the instrument is placed on 250 V a.c. supply at 100 Hz.

Solution
Total ohmic resistance = 250/0.05 = 5000 Ω
Reactance of the coil = 2πfL = 2π×100×1 = 628 Ω
2 2
Coil impedance = √ 5000 +628 =5040 Ω
Voltage reading on a.c. = 250×5000/5040 = 248 V
Error = -2 V
Percentage error = -2 × 100 (f.s.d) / 250 = - 0.806 %
= 0.806

Exercise Questions

Permanent Magnet Moving Coil (PMMC) Instruments

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

The general theory of moving-coil instruments may be dealt with considering a rectangular coil of N
turns, free to rotate about a vertical axis.

Basic construction of a PMMC instrument.

A moving coil instrument consists basically of a permanent magnet to provide a

magnetic field and a small lightweight coil is wound on a rectangular soft iron core that is
free to rotate around its vertical axis.
When a current is passed through the coil windings, a torque is developed on the coil
by the interaction of the magnetic field and the field set up by the current in the coil.
The aluminum pointer attached to rotating coil and the pointer moves around the
calibrated scale indicates the deflection of the coil. A balance weight is also attached to the
pointer to counteract its weight.
These hairsprings are not only supplying a restoring torque but also provide an
electric connection to the rotating coil. With the use of hairsprings, the coil will return to its
initial position when no current is flowing though the coil.

The springs will also resist the movement of coil when there is current through coil.

Principle of operation
It has been mentioned that the interaction between the induced field and the field produced by the
permanent magnet causes a deflecting torque, which results in rotation of the coil. The deflecting
torque produced is described below in mathematical form:

Deflecting Torque:

If the coil is carrying a current of i amp , the force on a coil side = BilN (newton, N).

G=2rBlN = NBA (Nm/amp)

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Controlling Torque:

The value of control torque depends on the mechanical design of the control device. For spiral
springs and strip suspensions, the controlling torque is directly proportional to the angle of deflection
of the coil.

i.e Control torque = C θ

where, θ = deflection angle in radians, and C = spring constant.

Damping Torque:

Electromagnetic damping is caused by the induced effects in the moving coil as it rotates in magnetic
field, provided the coil forms part of closed electric circuit.

dθ
Damping torque = D1 (Nm) where D1 = damping constant
dt

A multi-range ammeters and voltmeters

An ammeter is required to measure the current in a circuit and it therefore connected in series with
the components carrying the current.

If it is necessary to extend the meter-range shunts multipliers are used.

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Multi-range Voltmeter:

A dc voltmeter is constructed by a connecting a resistor in series with a PMMC instrument. Normally

resistance Rse is connected in parallel with the circuit.

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Advantages, Limitations and sources of errors

Advantages:
• The scale is uniformly divided
• The power consumption can be made very low.
• The torque-weight ratio can be made high with a view to achieve high accuracy.
• A single instrument can be used for multi range ammeters and voltmeters.
• Error due to stray magnetic field is very small.

Limitations:
• They are suitable for direct current only.
• The instrument cost is high.
• Variation of magnet strength with time.

The Errors are due to:

i) Frictional error, ii) Magnetic decay, iii) Thermo electric error, iv) Temperature error.

Errors can be reduced by following the steps given below:

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

• Proper pivoting and balancing weight may reduce the frictional error.
• Suitable aging can reduce the magnetic decay.
• Use of resistance in series (swamping resistance)

Exercise Questions

BRIDGE – WHEATSTONE BRIDGE (Balanced Condition/Unbalanced Condition)

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Definition :

 Bridges are electrical circuits for performing null measurements on resistances in DC and
general impedances in AC.
 Bridge circuit are used to convert impedance variations into voltage variations.

Two conditions
to be
considered:
Balance
Condition
Ig = 0
Unbalance
Condition
Ig ≠ 0

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Derivation
a

I1 I2

d
Vcb = Vdb  I3R3 = I4R4
c
I3 I4
Vca = Vda  I1R1 = I2R2
b
Therefore,
I 1 = I 3 ; I2 = I4
Using voltage divider, If R4 is unknown resistor
R2 R3 R R
R4  Rx  2 3
R1 R1

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Chapter 1 EEE 1104 ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT AND TRANSMISSION LINE

Exercise

Show the derivation when Ig≠0.

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